1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to vehicle article carriers such as luggage racks and, more particularly, to a vehicle article carrier having crossbars operable in a first or stowed mode oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and in a second or article carrying mode oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
2. Discussion
Modern automotive vehicles are commonly equipped with article carriers such as luggage racks for supporting various articles externally of the vehicle. Most vehicle article carriers include a pair of siderails laterally spaced apart on the vehicle roof (or trunk) and aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Most vehicle article carriers also include two or more crossbars laterally spanning the space between the siderails. The crossbars work in conjunction with the siderails to provide anchor points for securing articles to the carrier.
While such vehicle article carriers perform excellently in terms of article support and the like, there is still room for improvement. For example, vehicle article carrier crossbars can sometimes contribute to wind noise audible to vehicle occupants. Inasmuch as wind noise is generally considered undesirable, minimizing wind noise caused by vehicle article carrier crossbars is an important goal.
One attempt to reduce wind noise caused by vehicle article carrier crossbars has been to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the crossbars. While some of these attempts have proven helpful in reducing wind noise, even more effective wind noise reduction would be highly desirable. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a vehicle article carrier having an improved crossbar configuration which further minimizes wind noise audible within the vehicle occupant compartment.